Tuesday was one of the best days of the year for me - ice-skating at Somerset House and then supper at the Delaunay with my two favourite people Pascal & Arabella. Last year we took Arabella ice-skating for the first time at the Natural History Museum, she was so cocky and confident....until she stepped on the ice and then it was Bambi all over again. This year she did not fare much better, she was literally trying to run on the ice....I nearly fell over about a hundred times as I was laughing so hard.
Next stop was an early supper at The Delaunay which is somewhere I have wanted to go since it opened as it has several German dishes on the menu of which I am a huge fan. My father lived in Germany for a year after he finished school and regularly went back there to visit friends and would bring me home German sausages (such a piglet from such a young age). Nowadays the only time I have a bratwurst is once a year at Winter Wonderland and eating standing up in the cold is certainly not the same as a restaurant owned by Corbin and King. My biggest problem was going to be choosing what to eat.
The restaurant is a large open room with marble floors, dark wood panelled walls, white table cloths and smart brass fittings. I had booked a table at 6.15pm and was amazed how busy the restaurant was, however as it is near several theatres and has such a great atmosphere, it is not really surprising.
Despite the restaurant being nearly full, the service was faultless. They served us with drinks and the most gorgeous bread and salty butter almost immediately, much to Arabella's delight. Pascal has been to The Delaunay several times before so he took control and ordered a Tarte Flambee (from Alsace in Eastern France) with smoked bacon and shallots for us to eat while we looked at the menu (at this point I was wishing I had worn looser jeans)!
I was expecting the tarte to be some kind of quiche but instead it had a very thin base and was covered with a creamy white cheese (fromage blanc mixed with creme fraiche) and the bacon and shallots - it reminded me of a very delicious, very thin crispy pizza. I could have eaten one all to myself!!
I was tempted to order another one for my starter but thought I should try something different so I went for the crab cocktail which was great although the lettuce was a little cold (if that doesn't sound too weird?)!
The crab was extremely tasty and there was plenty of it. I ended up eating the bread here as well as it was smothered in butter and I could not resist!
Pascal went for the oysters which he raved about. I even had one, and while they are not something I would ever order, I did enjoy it with some shallot vinegar.
Even though there was not a children's menu, (in fact Arabella was the only child in the restaurant), there was plenty on the menu for her to chose from. She was torn between a hot dog, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon or chicken noodle soup. I think she would have been over the moon with just the bread basket and butter to be honest!! Anyway she chose a smoked salmon and creamed cheese bagel which she devoured and thoroughly enjoyed. The presentation was much better than when I do it at home plus there was enough cream cheese for us to share!
I obviously went for the German sausages - it wasn't an easy choice though as they had several to choose from and to be honest I didn't have a clue which was what and the waiter's description wasn't that helpful. I chose the Nurnberger which was flavoured with marjoram and is from Nuremberg (where my dad lived) and then the Berner Wurstel which was filled with cheese and bacon which sounded like Heaven. They were served with caramelised onions, potato salad and sauerkraut. It was all absolutely delicious, I obviously loved the sausages but was most pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the caramelised onions and garlicky potato salad too. I was not keen on the sauerkraut though!!
I ordered chips on the side which were extremely good but I certainly didn't need them....luckily I had Arabella to help me out!
Pascal ordered Choucroute as it is a dish he often has in France and I had never seen or heard of it before. Choucroute is another dish from Alsace and consists of potatoes, sauerkraut, sausages and other salted meats and charcuterie. Pascal said it was excellent, I tried some and the meats were superb however as I can't stand sauerkraut it wasn't my cup of tea.
Despite the wonderful puddings and cakes we were too full to eat anything else, even Arabella. It was a fantastic meal and we will definitely be back - next time I will definitely be having the tarte flambee but I will try the Cordon Bleu Schnitzel for mains...although the lobster roll and burger also looked good!!
55 Aldwych,
London WC2B 4BB
Tel: 020 7499 8558
Email: info@thedelaunay.com
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